


Five Times Duke Was Hurt in the Line of Duty, and One Time He Wasn’t

by YumeArashi



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: (non-explicit), Amnesia, Animal Attack, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, Multi, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 07:08:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10680249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeArashi/pseuds/YumeArashi
Summary: five-and-one Duke whump, with plenty of comfort to go with the hurt





	Five Times Duke Was Hurt in the Line of Duty, and One Time He Wasn’t

**First**

“Amnesia?  So he doesn’t remember who he is?” Nathan asked.

“You watch too many movies, kiddo,” Eleanor told him.  “He knows exactly who he is – to a point.  What he can’t do is form new memories.  For example, knows he’s in the hospital, he recognizes this place, but he doesn’t know why he’s here.  He keeps asking, but no matter how often anyone explains he doesn’t remember it.  Normally the long-term memory is intact up until the head injury that caused the damage, but the Trouble seems to have taken him a little further back since he doesn’t remember Audrey.  We’re not sure how far back, though.”

“What can I do for him?  He can’t stand me any more than I can stand him.”

Eleanor snorted.  “Keep telling yourself that.  He keeps asking for you, so get in there and try to be decent to him. He’s disoriented and frightened.  And Nathan – it won’t be easy.”

Nathan shrugged, and went in.

“Nathan,” Duke looked up with a relieved expression.

“Duke.  How are you feeling?” Nathan asked uncomfortably.

“All right, I guess.  I don’t understand why I’m here, but they won’t let me go home,” Duke spoke casually but Nathan knew him very well, and he could see Dr. Carr had been right.  Duke was afraid.

“Just bumped your head.  You should be fine.  Just want to keep you for observation.”

“Oh, that’s all?  I’m fine.  You didn’t have to come.”

“You asked for me,” Nathan said slowly.

Duke looked confused.  “No, I just woke up.  Hey, shouldn’t we call a nurse or something?  The sooner they check me out, the sooner I can go home.”

Nathan felt like he’d swallowed lead.  He hadn’t thought it would be a big deal, but watching the past few minutes slip from Duke’s mind was deeply disturbing.  “Sorry, Duke.  Gotta keep you overnight for observation.”

“Observation?  For what?  What happened to me, why am I here?” Duke asked, visibly distressed.

Nathan forced down the lump in his throat and reached out to take Duke’s hand.  “Just a bump on the head, Duke.  You’ll be fine.  Why don’t you get some rest?”

The contact seemed to comfort Duke, calming and reassuring him.  As contentious as their bond had been at times, there was no denying its strength.  For both of them, the fact that the other would always be there had been a foundation of their world.  Nathan wondered how far back Duke was, to be comforted rather than confused by the gesture.  Or was it simply that, underneath all the snapping and snarling, Duke still trusted him?

“I’m glad you’re here,” Duke said softly, leaving Nathan surprised.  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I feel…lost.”

“Understandable, you were pretty shaken up.  But you’re gonna be fine.” Nathan squeezed his hand.

“I’m sorry.” Duke told him, uncharacteristically sincere in his regret, raw with vulnerability.

“Sorry?  For what?”

“I fucked everything up between us.  We were friends and I…” Nathan could practically see Duke trying to hold onto the thought, struggling because it was important to him.

But he couldn’t.  It was gone, leaving anguish and frustration and fear on Duke’s face.

Nathan hated that there was nothing he could do.

Duke apologized eight more times that night. 

 

* * *

 

**Second**

A cry of pain went out through the night, a broken fragile sound that shivered through the silence of the dilapidated old farmhouse.  Prowling closer with Audrey, Nathan went impossibly cold. 

Duke never cried out in pain.  Never.

From his earliest childhood, Duke had hidden his hurts like an injured animal crawling into a hole to lick its wounds.  One night when they’d gotten very drunk, he’d blurrily explained to Nathan that to show pain was to show weakness.  To show vulnerability.  “Never let them know they got to you,” he’d said.  Once they knew it hurt, they’d do it again and again.

Nathan had seen it over and over through the years, from the hidden bruises and laughed-away sprains and broken bones of his abusive childhood, to Duke’s bravado and brazen insolence in the face of the more serious injuries he’d received smuggling and fighting Troubles.

It chilled Nathan to think what could make Duke cry out like that.

Audrey had to scramble to cover Nathan as he charged ahead heedlessly, breaking down the door and storming in.  Luckily the criminals were taken entirely by surprise, thinking that Duke didn’t have anyone who would care about him enough to come to his rescue.  Nathan took great pleasure in cuffing them, perhaps a little more roughly than was strictly necessary.

Duke was beyond bravado now, a shaking mess of blood and unwilling tears.  He looked away as they went over to him, obviously hating for them to see him like this.  A quick examination proved that the injuries, while calculated to incur the most vicious pain, were not life-threatening.  Audrey got a bowl of water from the spluttering sink as Nathan freed Duke and tried to gently rub circulation back into his cramped hands.  “No judgment, Duke,” he said quietly.  “Anyone else would have been screaming for their mommy halfway through.  You were damn strong and damn brave to make it through.”

“And you know Nathan,” Audrey said as she came back over, “He doesn’t say stuff like that unless he means it.” 

“Yeah, no comforting lies here.  Sorry.” 

Duke smiled faintly, giving Nathan’s hand a weak squeeze of gratitude.  He closed his eyes as Audrey began cleaning him up, allowing himself to relax at their tender care.

It was no small thing, Nathan knew - a gesture of trust, from a man who never trusted anyone.

 

* * *

 

 

**Third**

“Go, I’m fine, go after him,” Duke said into his stolen police radio as he slumped to the floor.  He looked at the wound in his chest and grimaced.  Goddamned metal manipulation Trouble, attacked by his own chef’s knives.  Those were good knives, too!  At least he’d probably live if he got medical attention soon.  Probably.

A moment later Audrey and Nathan came racing around the building, their eyes widening as they saw the knife handle sticking out of his chest.  Nathan had his phone out and was barking a demand for an ambulance before he even stopped running, and Audrey looked ready to forsake all empathy for the Troubled person and wring his neck.

“What are you doing here?” Duke managed.  It was getting increasingly hard to talk.  Or breathe.  “Sanders’ll get away.”

“To hell with Sanders,” Nathan growled, taking off his shirt and wrapping it around the base of the knife to staunch any blood that made it past the embedded blade.

“He said he’d stabbed you in the chest.  Did you think we were just going to leave you?”  Audrey demanded.

“Gotta…catch…”

“We’ll catch him later,” Nathan said.  “You’re more important.”

Duke fell silent, shocked.  More important than catching the bad guy?  More important than stopping a Trouble?  More important than what they  _ lived _ for?

“Just rest now,” Audrey murmured.  “We’re here.  You’re going to be okay.”

And Duke thought he actually might.

 

* * *

 

 

**Fourth**

“The hell d’you think you’re doing?” Nathan grunted as Duke painfully dragged himself to his feet in front of the other man.

“Protecting you,” Duke gasped.

“You’re hurt.  Stay down.”

“You are too.  Audrey will be here soon, stay alive until then.”

“What about you?” Nathan tried to push Duke aside, but even though he couldn’t feel the pain of his broken arm, he still couldn’t hold it steady.

“I’m the expendable one.  Petty crook, parasite, all that crap, remember?  If one of us is dying here, it’s going to be me.”

“Duke, don’t do this,” Nathan said urgently as the huge Trouble-maddened dog emerged from the shadows, snarling.

“You have a job to do.  You matter,” Duke said quietly as the dog crouched, teeth bared and muzzle wet with blood.  “Save Haven.  Put a stop to this.  No matter what happens to me, keep-” Duke’s words cut off as the animal sprang, his arm between its jaws as they went down the only thing keeping it from his throat.

“Duke!”

**

“Look, he’s waking up.”

“Mmmwhuh?”

“Duke, thank god you’re okay,” Audrey brushed his hair back from his forehead.

“Don’t ever do that again,” Nathan ordered, visibly relieved.  “What were you thinking?”

“You’re not expendable, Duke,” Audrey kissed his forehead.  “You’re everything to us.  We thought you knew.”

“Sorry,” Duke mumbled.

“Never mind sorry.  Just rest and get better,” Nathan told him.

“Sir yes sir,” Duke mumbled, closing his eyes with a sigh.  It was good to be here with them, safe and loved.

 

* * *

 

 

**Fifth**

“I’ll be all right,” Duke lied into his phone, as the icy water crept silently past his knees.  “I guess he just wanted me out of the way until he could deal with you two.  I’ll be fine here until you guys have taken care of him and can spare the time to come let me out.”

“We can come get you now,” Audrey said, and Duke could practically hear her frown.

“Except that wastes your time while Anderson is getting ever closer to destroying the entire town.  That’s more important and you know it.”

The deeply dissatisfied silence said she knew he was right.

“You’re  _ sure _ you’ll be okay?” Nathan must have taken the phone from Audrey.  His tone was deeply dubious. 

“Sure as sure can be.  Go, get the bad guy, save the day.  I’ll just chill out while you’re off being big damn heroes.”

Audrey took the phone back.  “All right but call us the  _ second _ anything changes, I’ll kick your ass if you don’t.”

“I promise.”  The water was rising steadily, if slowly, so technically nothing was changing.  “You two be safe out there, don’t let him catch you off guard.”

“We will.  See you soon.”

“See you,” Duke said cheerfully, and hung up. 

He took a ziplock out of his pocket – living on a boat, you never knew when you might get unexpectedly wet, and his phone was supposedly waterproof but a little extra insurance never hurt - and put the phone inside, sealing it up along with a puff of breath to ensure it would float if bad went to worse.  He’d enabled the GPS, so they should be able to find him.

Whether they found him in time, he mused as the water moved up his legs, was another question.

He looked up at the smooth walls of the pit towering above him, and wondered whether cold or drowning would get him first.  The water was icy, already numbing his lower extremities.  Hopefully his many layers would help, but they could only help so much.  And hypothermia would make it that much harder to keep above water once it was past his neck, especially weighted down with layers of sodden fabric.  Things looked bad, he knew.  But they’d looked bad before.  He’d done what he could.

Now he could only wait.

**

He was barely keeping above water when they arrived.  Hypothermia and exhaustion had taken their toll, leaving nothing above the surface but his upturned face.  He seemed barely conscious, only blinking sluggishly at their arrival.  As they rushed to the edge of the pit his eyes fell shut and he began slipping beneath the icy black water.

“Catch me,” Audrey snapped as she dove.  Nathan had just enough time to react, grabbing her ankles.  Ironically the ever-rising water was on their side now, having brought the surface close enough to the rim of the pit that Nathan could lean over the edge to let Audrey hang down far enough to grab hold of the sinking man.

It was a job hauling both of them back up, especially with Duke an unconscious dead weight who couldn’t help himself or them.  Nathan suspected he probably injured himself in some way or another accomplishing it, but in the end the three of them lay beside the pit, gasping for breath. 

Audrey scrambled to check that Duke was breathing and his heartbeat was steady.  Nathan pulled himself up and ran to the Bronco, pulling out the spare blankets he kept in the back.  Audrey was already tugging off Duke’s wet clothes when he got back, stripping off her own shirt and using it to towel him dry.  Nathan bundled them up together in the blankets, not liking the white and blue tones of Duke’s skin.  He guided them into his truck and cranked the heat, heading for the hospital as Audrey cuddled Duke, sharing her warmth.

As Duke was rushed off by the nurses, Audrey and Nathan waited impatiently to be allowed to rejoin him.  “Damn lucky timing, him holding on until we got there,” Nathan commented unhappily.  “Another couple minutes and we’d have been too late.”

“I’m not sure it was luck.  I think he waited for us.  I think him going under right then was because he saw us and knew he’d be okay.  He let go because he knew we’d save him,” Audrey said, pacing restlessly.

Nathan frowned deeply, but before he could say anything the nurse came back and brought them to Duke’s room, where he was piled under heated blankets.  Audrey promptly kicked off her shoes and climbed under the blankets to add her body heat.  “Come on, Nathan, he needs all the help he can get.”

Nathan hesitated, but in his mind’s eye he kept seeing Duke disappearing under the water, sinking down out of view towards death. 

He joined Audrey on the bed.

 

* * *

 

 

**And One  
**

“Is it just me, or does Duke seem a little…slow today?”

“Not just you.  He’s a zombie.  Another all-night poker game?”

Audrey shook her head.  “Socially he’s dropped off the face of the earth.  I only ever see him here at the Gull, or working cases with us.”

When Tracy brought their drinks, Audrey asked, “Do you think we could borrow Duke for a bit?”

“Please, get him out of our hair, he’s so sleep-deprived that he’s making more work for everyone instead of helping,” Tracy shook her head, looking worried. “I’ll send him over.”

Duke came over a minute later, dark circles under his eyes and the general look of someone who’s pushed themselves beyond exhaustion out of sheer will alone.

“What’s going on with you?” Nathan asked bluntly.

“Nothing, nothing’s wrong, why do you ask?” Duke’s attempt at a carefree smile fell flat.

“Duke, you’re exhausted, anyone could see that.”

“M’fine.”

“Bullshit,” Nathan rolled his eyes.

“Come on upstairs, we can talk in private,” Audrey coaxed.  “Tracy said they can spare you.”

Duke allowed the two of them to shepherd him upstairs.  When he sat on the bed it was less sitting and more dropping like a rock.

“Come on, Duke.  Why aren’t you sleeping?” Audrey coaxed. 

“If it’s nightmares, we all get ‘em,” Nathan tried.  “No judgment.”

“Can’t have nightmares without sleeping.  Don’t have time,” Duke yawned cavernously.

Audrey gently pushed him down so he was lying on the bed.  “Why don’t you have time?” she asked as Nathan pulled off Duke’s shoes.

“You have to ask?  Always helping you out,” Duke protested, trying to sit up again but defeated as much by his own exhaustion as by the slight pressure of Audrey’s hand on his shoulder.

“But we’re not a wreck like you,” Nathan frowned worriedly.  “Gotta be something more.”

“Troubles ‘re your  _ job _ ,” Duke mumbled, giving up on his attempts to sit up and letting Audrey tuck him under the covers.  His eyes were already sliding shut.  “S’a sideline for me.  An’ I know I made it look fun, but s’a lotta work keeping the Gull afloat.  Ask Bill.  An’ the Rouge.  Keep her afloat too.  Lotta work.”

Audrey and Nathan exchanged a guilty look.

“You don’t have to always help us.  You can say no if you’re too tired,” Audrey offered.

“Nope.  Can’t let you down,” Duke sighed.  “Gotta do the right thing.  Be better.  For you.”

“Why didn’t you talk to us?” Nathan asked.  “We’d have worked something out.”

“Didn’t wanna worry you,” Duke mumbled, his words blurring with sleep, his breath evening out already.

Audrey leaned over and kissed his forehead.  “We’re fine, don’t worry about us.  You just get some sleep.”

Duke didn’t reply, fast asleep in her bed.

Nathan shook his head.  “Only Duke.”

“And only we could be so blind as to not see the way he was running himself into the ground,” Audrey shook her head. 

“We’ll do better.  Work it out,” Nathan patted her shoulder.  “Help him the way he helps us.”

Audrey smiled and kissed him.  “I like the sound of that.”

 


End file.
